5 things you need to know in South Africa today
·24 Oct 2016
Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:
- The war inside the ANC is escalating after the party’s chief whip, Jackson Mthembu, turned on its leaders, calling for the entire national executive to resign to help save the party. However, branches of the ANC captured by president Jacob Zuma – the MK veterans and the ANC Youth League – say that it is Mthembu who should resign saying he is undisciplined and reckless.
- Finance minister Pravin Gordhan is getting more and more support from prominent figures and organisations, who are rallying behind him as he faces fraud charges which many believe are politically motivated. Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation have joined swathes of businessmen, CEOs and political figures, and have given notice to NPA head Shaun Abrahams, calling for him to drop the charges.
- The Gupta family’s threats aimed towards Gordhan and the national treasury have failed to reach the desired effect, with the minister ‘noting’ the attacks from the family through their lawyers last week – but shrugging them off, saying he will respond to them in court. The minister has submitted documents showing billions of rands in suspicious payments with the Guptas must now answer for.
- Trillian Capital a company which reportedly has loose ties to the Gupta family, has denied claims from a former executive that it knew about former minister Nhlanhla Nene’s axing months ahead of the move – and that it tried to get lucrative government contracts with the information. A former executive at the company made the allegations in an affidavit to the Public Protector and then fled the country.
- South Africa’s rand weakened for second straight session on Friday as increased bets of an interest rate hike in the United States dampened demand for emerging currencies globally. On Monday the rand was trading at R13.95 to the dollar, R17.01 to the pound and R15.15 to the euro.
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